


Deep Magic

by Drazyrohk



Series: Deep Magic [1]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Animated (2007)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Human!Blurr, Magic, Mer!Shockwave, Merformers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-31
Updated: 2017-09-18
Packaged: 2018-08-28 07:46:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8437258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drazyrohk/pseuds/Drazyrohk
Summary: Curses and merfolk and mysteries, oh my!
All Blurr wanted was a quiet vacation, a trip back to his hometown and down memory lane. Clearly, someone or something had decided his journey was going to be a lot more unforgettable.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> :D Merformers! Welcome to the drabbletastic bunnies spawned by delightful conversations with Harutemu. Nothing terribly serious, this is just for fun but I thought I'd share the fun with you!

It had reached the point of his trip home where Blurr wasn’t able to really tell which part of it had been the worst. 

 

Seeing his childhood home sporting an overgrown lawn, a rusted swing set and a coat of seafoam green paint on the siding had been pretty bad. More shocking than painful, but still bad. 

 

Trying to visit his favorite fish and chips shop just to discover it had been replaced by a Starbucks had been a punch in the gut. He had loved that shop, he had eaten there almost every weekend when he was growing up. Apparently the owner had passed away a few years ago and no one had stepped up to take his place. So, it became a Starbucks.

 

Finding out that the reef tour he had gone on twice a week with his friends was no longer running and that the reef itself was protected and no longer safe for visitors really had to be the kicker. Blurr listened with disbelief as one of the tour operators who remembered him explained some of the reasons for the change. 

 

“After habitat destruction, worsening weather and lack of interest, all it took was one mer attack and the politicians shut us down.” 

 

It was no secret that there were mer in the water surrounding the town. Everyone who lived there and everyone who visited had seen them. Most knew to keep their distance. Curiosity on the part of the mer and the humans alike meant that there were sometimes encounters that called for intervention, but as far as Blurr had heard, no one had ever been attacked by the mer.

 

“It wasn’t that time Longarm pulled you in though, no need to worry about that.” The tour operator assured him. Blurr nodded at him in response and smiled sheepishly. 

 

“Yeah, that was pretty wild. Longarm didn’t hurt me though.” He said with a laugh. 

 

“Damn menace still hangs around, eating all my crabs.” The muttered reply only made him laugh harder. Blurr wished the man a fond farewell before heading back down the dock. 

 

Longarm was a mer that had haunted these docks all through his childhood, a blue cuttlefish that Blurr had always affectionately called ‘the Cuddlefish.’ He was a chubby thing, a complete crab fiend that took delight in stealing from the traps set out to catch what the crabbers needed to make a living.

 

The more they tried to shoo Longarm away, the more bold he became. Eventually, he was stealing entire traps instead of just breaking into them. He wasn’t a dangerous mer, just a frustrating annoyance. 

 

When he was about twelve, Blurr had been dragged off the dock by the Cuddlefish. He had been teasing the mer with a crab and had found himself suddenly in the grasp of more tentacles than he could count. Longarm had held him under longer than was safe, those tentacles working their way under his clothes and keeping him from struggling free. 

 

At the time he had been terrified. Almost drowning would certainly have that effect on a twelve year old boy. But he didn’t blame the Cuddlefish for the event because everyone knew better than to tease the mer. Some people just had to learn their lessons the hard way. 

 

It hadn’t kept Blurr away from the water either, though he hadn’t been this close to it since he and his family had moved away ten years ago. 

 

A splash near the next dock over made him pause. Blurr turned to look in the direction of the sound, then smiled when he saw ripples in the water. It might have just been a fish, but it also might have been something more interesting and worth venturing over for. 

 

Blurr tucked his hands into his jacket pockets and trotted to the edge of the dock. He hopped into the small boat moored there, then stepped onto the next dock and peered over the side. 

 

Another splash sounded behind him, Blurr glancing towards the source. A small part of him was hoping it was Longarm, or a mer of some sort as it had been so long since he had last seen one. The dock shifted under his feet and forced him to steady himself with his arms out to either side.

 

“I know you’re there so you can just show yourself now. You’re not fooling anyone.” He called with a laugh. He moved closer to the edge again. “Don’t be shy!” 

 

When Blurr looked down, he saw his reflection on the settling surface of the water. He gazed at his own smirking face, then felt a jolt of shock when he noticed the row of sharp teeth exposed by his lips pulling into a wider grin. 

 

A startled cry burst out of him and Blurr tried to take a step back. Pale hands shot from the water, seized the front of his shirt and dragged him off the dock. He had the presence of mind to take a deep breath before he was pulled under the water.

 

The hands were attached to unnaturally long limbs and laden with curved claws that tore through the fabric of the shirt he was wearing. Blurr tried to shove himself backwards, but he had no leverage. He was out of his depth, and each passing second of struggle was making it harder and harder to hold his breath.

 

He was dragged forward, dragged up against a scrawny pale chest. He looked up with panicked eyes and stared into the face of a creature that was definitely not human or even mer. Without the distortion of ripples on the surface of the water, Blurr could see the face of the thing that held him was a poor mockery of his own. It looked almost like a statue in a wax museum. 

 

The creature loomed up over him, their faces almost touching. Its mouth was still pulled into a smile that was too wide and held far too many sharp teeth. 

 

Blurr could feel the need for air becoming urgent, but his struggles were in vain. He braced a foot against the lower half of the creature and shoved hard. It responded by opening its mouth and lunging forward. 

 

Needle teeth dug into the soft flesh of his neck. Pain burst through his body, followed by a tingling sensation that crawled across his skin. His muscles began twitching restlessly, something that Blurr attributed to the fact that he was being starved of oxygen.

 

The tingling became numbness. Blurr’s final breath escaped him in an eruption of bubbles. 

 

He watched as the creature pulled back, it’s strange, wax statue features smoothed and became more defined. Through the dark edges of his vision beginning to crowd inwards, Blurr watched as it began to look more and more like him. 

 

He needed air. He needed to breathe. It was taking all his willpower not to suck in a lungful of water. His grip was beginning to loosen and his struggles were becoming weak. 

 

Blurr heard the creature laugh, the sound clear and defined. He could do nothing but turn his head away when it leaned in again and drew a soft tongue up the side of his neck. It closed its mouth over the wounds it had made with its teeth and sucked firmly. 

 

Blurr tried to brace his hands against the thin, bony chest in front of him, tried to push it off. It responded by lifting its mouth from his neck and looking him in the eye. 

 

Opening its mouth, the creature released a burst of bioluminescent fluid directly into Blurr’s face. It then shoved him away and he didn’t have the strength to try and swim. Blurr began to sink, feebly scrabbling with clumsy fingers at the thing’s arm in an attempt to stop himself. 

 

It laughed at him again, then coughed and spat bubbles. 

 

The unnaturally white flesh of the creature began to change, color bleeding over it like food coloring dropped in a dish of milk. Hair sprouted over its scalp, its skin rippled disconcertingly as it changed shape. In moments, Blurr found himself staring at his stark naked and madly grinning double. 

 

He couldn’t move, the numbness he felt had spread through his whole body. The burning need for air grew more and more intense until he had no choice. 

 

Blurr breathed in deep. Silvery black spots exploded in his vision and he began to thrash in agony. The last thing his fading vision registered was his own naked figure dragging itself from the water and onto the dock above. 

 

_This is it_ , Blurr thought as blackness became all he could see. As far as the trip was concerned, this was definitely the worst part.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't normally post a second chapter so soon after a first, but I wanted to clear up a little confusion!

Something prodded his side. He felt it as an afterthought, a phantom touch. Blurr felt it like it was happening a great distance from his body. 

 

As he struggled to process thoughts and sensations, he was nudged none too gently. He felt himself drifting to the left and contacting a hard surface. A grunt of protest escaped him and Blurr forced his eyes open. 

 

He found himself looking into a familiar face and confusion welled up in him. He recognized the blue eyes and the snub nose, as well as the large red spot gracing the forehead above them. And of course, it would have been very difficult to forget the tentacles, one of which rose to curl under his chin so he couldn’t look away.

 

Hands cupped his cheeks. A thumb pushed against the left corner of his mouth and dragged his lip up. Blurr made a noise of protest and attempted to push it away. The other thumb pulled down his right bottom eyelid, so Blurr lifted his chin out of the tentacle’s grip and turned his head away.

 

Wait. Wait just a second. Blurr focused on the figure in front of him. He frowned slightly as his thoughts cleared a touch. 

 

“Curious.” There was a soft hum that Blurr could feel in his chest the way one could feel heavy bass in a loudly played song. “Don’t you know it’s rude to invade other’s homes? You’re either incredibly brave, stupid and highly inebriated or this is the most pathetic attempt on my life I’ve seen yet.”

 

“W-what?” Blurr muttered in response. 

 

“Hm. Of course, someone could have left you here for another reason.” Another tentacle slithered across his lower belly, suckers plucking at his skin and leaving a rather curious heat in their wake. “It’s been a long while since anyone thought to leave me such a gift. Or did you perhaps come here on your own?”

 

“I d-don’t-” Blurr breathed with a shake of his head. He tried to curl his lower body away from the disturbingly strong and slick appendages gripping him, but they persisted. 

 

It didn’t feel like there was anything beneath his feet. Had he struck his head? Is that why he felt like he was floating?

 

“You really should have known better. Don’t you realize who I am?” The tentacle that had been under his chin now curled almost lazily around his neck. 

 

“You’re Longarm… you’re the Cuddlefish.” Blurr said, words slurred and voice thick. 

 

“What?” The tentacle tightened its grip and Blurr cried out in alarm. “What did you just call me?”

 

“C-C-Cuddlefish!” Blurr bleated. He brought a hand up to tug the tentacle loose, but he was quickly restrained by another one. 

 

“And where did you learn that name, hm? Have you been spying on me?” Disdain was evident in the tone used to ask the question. 

 

“N-no! No, I-” Blurr began, only to stop short with a blink. “Wait. You’re the Cuddlefish. You live in the water.” 

 

“Very astute, trespasser.” 

 

“Y-you live in the water! That means I’m in the water! I’m still in the water!” Realization crashed down on him and Blurr began struggling. “Need to get out!” 

 

“You can’t just get out of the water.” More tentacles were wrapping around him now, restraining him completely as his struggling increased. “The humans would see you.” 

 

“I am a human!” Blurr cried. “I need to breathe!” 

 

Longarm paused and blinked down at him. The tentacle around his neck loosened as he leaned back. 

 

“Please, please let me go! Please, I have to get to the surface, have to breathe!” Blurr found himself begging, his hands tugging at the tentacles still holding him. 

 

His hands were blue. There were blunt, black claws at the tips of his fingers and short webs between them. Blurr released his grip on the tentacles and stared at his hands as he held them out in front of him.

 

“What. The. Fuck?” He asked, eyes widened in disbelief. “What? What the absolute fuck? What is this?!” 

 

“Normally I would make a snide remark about how this is all rather obvious, but I’m afraid that’s not the case this time.” Longarm said. His expression spoke of surprise and suspicion. “Are you the little fool who used to taunt me? The human child?” 

 

“What the fuck?!” Blurr held his hands out towards the Cuddlefish as if trying to determine whether or not he was seeing what Blurr was seeing. 

 

“I have some bad news for you.” Longarm said, one brow arched. “If the hands are garnering such a reaction, a quick glance downwards isn’t likely to make things much better.” 

 

“Wha-” Blurr looked down. 

 

He had no legs! His legs were gone! So were all his clothes!

 

His naked torso was white and very pale blue that deepened in a gradient towards the pointed tip of a long, graceful tail. Several sets of fins protruded along the length of his body, the largest at his hips and several smaller near the tapering end of his tail. 

 

“What did you do?” Blurr asked in shock. 

 

“I was going to ask you the same thing.” Longarm replied.


	3. Chapter 3

It should have been a momentous occasion. Blurr had dreamed his whole childhood of meeting the Cuddlefish and being able to speak to him. Now he had gotten the chance under unimaginable circumstances…

And Longarm had looked him the eyes, stated bluntly that he ‘wasn’t his problem,’ and promptly turned to swim away. 

Blurr had been abandoned. He was trapped in a body that he had no idea how to use, he had been drowned and and had his human body stolen by some ghoulish creature from the depths, he was starting to get hungry and the moment he had been waiting for all his life had ended in complete disappointment. 

He tried to follow Longarm but it didn’t work very well. There was a lot of awkward thrashing in place before he realized he wasn’t going anywhere and just gave up.

No longer being supported by Longarm’s long arms or propelled in circles by his own flopping, Blurr sank slowly. He stared at the sand as he approached it. He managed to twist so he landed on his side rather than his front so he didn’t suck sand into his gills. 

He was laying there for some time, watching the fish that were brave enough to swim close before darting away in caution. Constantly moving. Always in motion.

Blurr wasn’t going to get anywhere if he didn’t move. Gathering up the will to lift himself off the floor of the ocean, he began attempting to swim again. While it didn’t go much better than before, this time he didn’t just give up. 

Reaching down, Blurr tried dragging himself forward by digging his hands into the sand. There was a movie he had seen, and a single line from said movie kept running through his head. Just keep swimming… just keep swimming…

Okay, so now he had movement. The problem was, he didn’t know where he was going or what he was working towards. Blurr stopped and frowned. 

What exactly was the contingency when you suddenly found yourself turning into a mer? It couldn’t be a thing that happened very often, Blurr hadn’t ever heard of it. And the Cuddlefish had seemed surprised. Confused even.

And then there was the issue of the doppelganger. There was someone on land that was pretending to be him! That wasn’t good, not by a long shot. Maybe if he could get to his double, he could get his body back?

“First order of business, then.” Blurr told himself, nodding decisively and beginning to wiggle his way towards the not so distant pillars of the pier he had fallen off of. “Warn people that a creepy albino fish man stole my body.” 

And didn’t that sound absurd? It sounded completely insane to him and he was the one living through it. 

His arms were starting to feel rubbery from the effort of dragging himself. The erratic movements of his tail weren’t helping him advance much either. Blurr let out a soft growl and flicked his tail in irritation-

And shot about a foot forward before he face planted awkwardly in the sand.

After a moment of panicked thrashing, he fell completely still. The sand he had kicked up eventually settled atop him, disturbed only by the gentle movement of his fins and gills. 

A few of the braver fish that were making their way through the water came up to nibble on him. Blurr watched them as he lay there, dejected, exhausted and frustrated. He felt his lips curl back without him telling them to, then he lunged with jaws open at a fish that got too close to his face. 

The fish scattered and Blurr pushed himself off the ocean floor. He wasn’t about to stay here and be taunted by a bunch of stupid fish! Look at them, showing off with their effortless swimming and-

Blurr paused again. 

Right. He was a fish. Sort of. Fish enough, at least.

Whales, dolphins and humans swam with an up and down motion of their lower halves. Sharks swam with a side to side movement. All he had to do was stop acting like he was still on the swim team!

A wide grin on his face, Blurr put his focus into another swimming attempt. He tried to mimic the movements of the fish above, but his body was much longer than theirs. The quick flicks of their tails didn’t work for him, doing nothing but serving to kick up the sand at the bottom and tire him out.

“Come on!” Blurr growled. “Please please please please-” 

As he tired, he slowed down. As he slowed down, Blurr began to move. It was a lazy, sideways drifting along the ocean floor, but it was movement nonetheless. Bubbles burst from his gills as he let out a jubilant laugh. 

He swam forward a few feet, excitement raced through him, and he laughed again. He was doing it! He was swimming! He was swimming just like a shark! And he was fast once he really got going!

The ground rushed by beneath him. It was much more exhilarating than every time he had gone scuba diving, he wasn’t tied to a tank or wearing a mask. The water was all around him but there wasn’t any pressure or drag. 

He pushed himself faster and faster. Now that he had this, it was effortless! He could go so far in no time at all! It was like nothing could stop him!

Nothing except the pillar of the pier that Blurr had somehow completely missed in his excitement. He certainly didn’t miss it when he collided with it head first, nor did he miss the stars that exploded in his vision after impact. 

With a muffled sound of pain, Blurr fluttered to the sand, arms clutched over his head. “Ow ow ooowww-” He moaned, half expecting to see blood when he pulled his hands away to look at them.

No blood. That was a good sign right?

Despite that, Blurr still curled up again and gave himself a moment to catch his breath. Well, sort of. His gills were still working so he didn’t really need to do that. And it sort of felt strange to be curled up like this, not quite resting on the ocean floor, but it was helping Blurr hide his embarrassment at the situation.

He looked up at the sun shining down through the water, struck immediately by how surreal it was. He was beneath the docks, laying in the sand next to mussel and algae coated pillars, bathed in aqua colored light. This was basically a dream come true, wasn’t it?

After all, ever since the first time he saw the Cuddlefish, he had dreamed of being able to swim with the mer. He had spent every spare moment in the ocean, diving, exploring the reef. He had taken scuba lessons as soon as he was allowed; his parents could barely keep him out of the water!

And now he didn’t need the scuba gear. He didn’t need air the same way. He wasn’t just swimming with the mer, he _was_ the mer.

“So why am I rushing to change back?” Blurr asked himself with a sigh. He looked up again, then blinked when he saw a shadow moving across the dock. It seemed his collision hadn’t gone unnoticed. 

Curiosity and excitement and apprehension all warred within him. On one hand, he wanted to rush to the surface and see who it was. On the other hand, what if it was the doppelganger?

“You’ll never know unless you go up there.” Blurr said to himself. He pushed off the seafloor and swam towards the shimmering surface of the water.


	4. Chapter 4

Piers didn’t shudder like that for no reason, Swerve told himself as he hesitantly approached the edge and peered down into the water. Since there were no boats in the area and a boat striking the pier would have been hard to miss, Swerve figured the shudder warranted an investigation. 

“Don’t panic. It was probably nothing. You might have just imagined it. Maybe it was a wave.” He muttered to himself. 

Though he hoped and prayed he’d only be looking down at his reflection on the surface of the calm water, Swerve saw a different face instead. A distinctly not human face.

“Well. You’re certainly not a boat.” He informed the owner of the face. “You’re a mer.” 

The mer was unfamiliar. Swerve kept track of the ones who swam around the area surrounding the reef, and this one was new. Judging by the blue skin and the angle of the fins, it was a shark of some sort. This was further evidenced by the sharp teeth exposed when the mer smiled. 

“Are you a crab eater? I’ve got some problems with crab eaters.” Swerve said. “But if you don’t eat crabs, we’re cool.” 

The mer shifted closer, face breaking the surface of the water. Swerve didn’t so much flinch as startle. 

“Uh, no, that’s okay. You stay down there, you’re okay.” He urged, holding his hands up. 

The mer looked confused and tilted its head to the side. 

“Right. You probably don’t understand me, do you?” Swerve said with a nervous laugh. He glanced around, but there seemed to be no one else nearby who had noticed the mer. “Um, maybe you should swim away. You can still swim, right?” 

The mer tilted his head to the other side, then reached up and tried to grab hold of the edge of the pier. Swerve most definitely did not backpedal, he just lost his balance a little and wound up a foot or so away. 

“Ahaha h-hey now! No, s-stay in the water, okay? N-nice fish stick.” He stammered and waved his hands. “Y-you can’t breathe out here, right? The air is bad for you! C’mon fishie, please-”

The mer opened its mouth and an absolutely unholy screech escaped. Swerve absolutely did not squeak in alarm, no matter what anyone who might have heard said. To his credit, the mer seemed to be as startled as he was and dashed back beneath the surface of the water. 

The sound drew the attention of other fishermen in the immediate area. As they began rushing to see what the commotion was, Swerve turned back to the mer and waved his hands more frantically. 

“Go! Shoo! Swim away!” He hissed. “They won’t be as nice to you as I am! Go on now! Swim away!” 

The mer looked at him for a moment, then realization dawned on its face. It reluctantly turned, looked over its shoulder at him, then swam away with a flick of its long tail. 

“What the heck was that?!” Someone yelled as they approached. 

“I honestly have no idea.” Swerve responded. He turned his back, his heart hammered in his chest. “Whatever it was, it’s gone now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A wild Swerve approaches!


	5. Chapter 5

The mer known locally as Longarm was finding it increasingly difficult to find food. He could hunt, sure, but he had gotten quite used to the convenience of having the humans provide for him. 

The crab traps that he often foraged from had been removed. Then the special basket that the humans would fill with food to keep him away from the crab traps remained empty for days. The roaming schools of fish in the reef were hiding in their dens, and without bait to entice them, the crabs were also keeping their distance. 

All of it was no doubt the result of the unwanted guest lurking in Longarm’s territory. Humans were skittish idiots most of the time, but all those instincts seem to have left the fool when he was turned into a mer. 

The shark spent his first two days swimming around the docks. He became increasingly bold and insistent in his attempts to speak to the humans, but he was ultimately unsuccessful. The humans chased him off but the fool continued lurking despite being obviously unwelcome. 

Knowing the humans, they probably thought the shark was being aggressive. And the removal of the crab pots was likely to encourage him to leave the area. 

If he continued his antics, the humans might start using more dangerous means to do so.

But still, through all of this, Longarm hadn’t bothered chasing the fool away. He could have easily ejected him from his territory, sent him on his way, but there was something endearing about how bad he was at being mer. It was like he was a hatchling, or an ill-behaved pet. 

Watching him try to catch fish served as an evening’s entertainment. The shark was quick, but rather clueless. Longarm was proud of him when he finally managed to snatch a fish up in his clawed hands, but the fool was so surprised by his success that he immediately dropped it again and watched as it swam away.

While Longarm hunted for himself, he watched the new blood swim about aimlessly. He was always on the move, always swimming back and forth without rest. It looked to Longarm that despite what he had claimed upon meeting him, this had become his problem. There were no other sharks here for the fool to learn from, so it was either going to fall to Longarm to show him what to do or he wasn’t going to make it. 

Longarm decided that if the shark was still hanging around by morning, he’d take him under his mantle. He’d known the human that he’d been before, and he was curious about why the man became the mer. 

After all, deep magic wasn’t flung about for no reason.

There was no sign of the shark the next day. Or the day after that. It might have been for the best if the worst had happened to him, but it didn’t stop Longarm from feeling a bit guilty. There were a lot of terrible things that could happen to their kind, especially when humans were involved. If the shark had been captured because Longarm had chosen not to warn him away from the docks…

It was worth taking a look around at least. There were fresh traces of the shark’s scent still in the water nearby, so Longarm followed them. The trail eventually led him out into deeper water, and while that quelled the lingering fear that the shark had been captured by humans, it wasn’t precisely a relief. 

The trail got stronger, but soon brought with it the metallic scent of blood. The guilt within Longarm grew. Still, dead was better than in captivity. 

Down towards the shelf, where the water was just starting to become murky, Longarm found him. Out here, humans didn’t hunt for crabs with pots that a mer would be hard pressed to become trapped in. Here, they used trawl nets tough enough to ensnare bigger fish. 

In the end, the fool had been nothing more than a big fish. He was tangled up in the net, tail bent at an uncomfortable angle and one arm pinned against his side. Silt from the ocean floor had settled atop the arm that was free in a clear depiction of his lack of movement. His face was turned away and his gill flaps were barely open. There were smaller fish picking at the shark’s hide that darted away when Longarm floated down. 

He wasn’t about to leave the fool there. Even dead mer would no doubt suffer indignities at the hands of humans. Besides, he was hungry, and he didn’t feel it would be fair for the little fish to have the shark to themselves. 

Longarm tugged himself closer by looping his tentacles around the net. He used them to untangle some of the knots that had formed, likely from the shark’s attempts to escape once he realized he was caught. 

His two longer tentacles pushed beneath the ropes binding the shark’s tail so he could lift it into a better position. As soon as they made contact with the shark’s rough skin, Longarm felt his tail move. 

Silt erupted around them as the fool thrashed and lunged at him with his free arm. Longarm jerked back in surprise, released his hold and darted out of reach. He was alive! The new blood was alive!

When the silt settled again and Longarm was able to see him clearly, he found himself meeting a pair of wide, inky black eyes. The shark was gasping, drawing water in through his mouth, his sharp teeth only just visible beyond his lips. His stare was unwavering. 

That was the look of a hungry predator, not the look of a trapped mer.

Drawing his tentacles against his body, Longarm ventured closer again. He met the shark’s intense stare and exhaled in a burst of bubbles. There was no way he was going to release the fool until he was sure it was safe, which meant he was going to have to feed him. 

Luckily, there were crabs nearby. The scavengers were picking away at the remains of previous catches that still clung to the coarse net and didn’t notice there was danger coming for them until it was too late. 

Longarm snatched up one of the larger ones, binding its claws with one tentacle. Its struggling was futile, its many legs kicking restlessly as he carried it over to where the shark was bound. 

Eyes the colour of the depths turned from Longarm to the crab he held. The shark panted in exhaustion and strained weakly against the net. 

“Not so long ago, we were in a similar position.” Longarm said as he gazed at the shark through the murk. “You were a foolish human child and I was bound to the waters outside your home as surely as you are bound here. They must have warned you that I was dangerous many times over the years. You didn’t seem to care though.” 

He laughed softly, lifting the crab above his head and looking at it. “You still had the bravery, the audacity, the stupidity to come to the edge of the water and dangle food above my head just out of reach.” 

The shark watched the wiggling crab and Longarm laughed again. “And yet, even after you teased me, even after I pulled you into the water for it, you never gave up.” 

He let the crab wave slowly back and forth above the shark’s head. “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll give you this crab and let you out of that net, but you’ve got to do something for me in return.”

The shark made no attempt to communicate, staring at the crab. 

“Those wicked teeth of yours never find purchase in my flesh with the intent to harm.” Longarm said. “Your claws are never brought to bear against me with malice.” 

The shark reached his free arm up, tail beginning to thrash again. Longarm lifted the crab a little higher. 

“I will feed you. I will tend your wounds. In return, you will remain within my territory with me. Your needs will be met and you will have no reason to harm me.” He said. 

Those inky black eyes finally turned back to him and Longarm met their stare with ease. There was little in the way of comprehension within them, but the shark eventually tilted his chin in what might have been a nod. 

It was good enough for Longarm. “Very well. I bind you to me by my true name. I, Shockwave, bind you to me with my deep magic.” 

His tentacles made short work of the crab, cracking the shell and ripping out the best pieces of its flesh. He took a chunk in hand and lowered it to the shark’s mouth. 

Lips peeled back from jagged teeth like knives and black eyes widened, but the shark was surprisingly gentle as he accepted the food he was offered. Shockwave drew his hand back and watched as the fool snapped the bit of crab down without chewing it. 

“Let’s get you to the point where you can thank me for my generosity, hm?” He murmured. “And then you can tell me your name.”


	6. Chapter 6

There had been a time when magic was far more prevalent than now. Humans had used it as much as mer, and while theirs wasn’t as old or as strong, it was magic all the same. 

At some point, whether it was through practice or perhaps through interference or meddling on the part of one of the elder mer, humans learned how to turn themselves into mer. Young men and women were changed and offered to alphas as gifts, trophies or mates. Sometimes they were changed in an attempt to drive a mer from their territory if the humans wanted it for themselves. 

The spell used to do this was part of a well of power known as deep magic. Ancient and unpredictable, it was normally wielded only by the oldest and most powerful of the mer. 

It had been a very long time since the practice of offering shifted humans to mer had fallen into disfavour. And it was practically unheard of to encounter a human that had been changed not by another human, but by a mer. 

From what Shockwave could tell, this particular human had been changed by borrowed magic. The spell had been prepared and stored, then unleashed upon him. There were many layers to it, and it would take time for Shockwave to figure out just what had been cast. 

The shark wasn’t like any of the other shifted that Shockwave had encountered in the past. The remnants of magic still clung to him, but he was more complete. These instincts he displayed in his starved and injured state were those of a mer who had been born, not turned. He tasted like a true mer too. 

Coherence slowly returned to those inky black eyes, though it took a few more fish to get him to that point. Shockwave didn’t loosen anymore of the knots in the net until he succeeded in getting a name out of the fool. 

“Blurr.” He heard him mutter. “M’name’s… Blurr.” 

A fitting name for a mer as fast as this one, but was that a name he had chosen for himself? Shockwave wasn’t sure he’d ever heard of a human named ‘Blurr’ before. Of course, the fool could be more clever than Shockwave had given him credit for. He kept his true name to himself and gave Shockwave a different one. 

“What happened?” Blurr asked in confusion. “How’d I get here?” 

“A safe bet would be you swam here.” Shockwave said, arms busily working to loosen the net. “You’ve barely stopped moving since you got here.” 

“I swam here?” Blurr looked around, a frown touching his face. “Where is here?” 

“Far away from where you started.” Shockwave responded enigmatically. “Try to stay still so you don’t make more of a mess of this.” 

“What happened?” Blurr asked again, more quietly this time. 

“You’re very bad at catching fish and finding food in general. You got hungry.” Shockwave replied. 

“I got hungry and swam my way into a net? Is that gonna happen every time I get hungry?” Blurr asked. 

“I certainly hope not.” Shockwave said disapprovingly. “There. You should be able to get free on your own at this point.” 

Blurr looked up at him in exhaustion. He didn’t seem keen on even attempting to move, so Shockwave was forced to seize him beneath the arms and drag him. 

“Was I eating raw fish?” Blurr asked as Shockwave hauled him away from the net. “I feel like I should be more grossed out about that, but I guess it wouldn’t really be the first time. I ate sashimi and stuff before, so eating a whole raw fish is probably not that much of a stretch.”

“You’re going to have to get used to it. There aren’t a lot of choices when you live in the ocean, and being an obligate carnivore, it’s not like you can choose to eat seaweed.” Shockwave said. “You’ve really got to start moving on your own again. I have no interest in dragging you everywhere.” 

“I’m really tired.” Blurr complained. 

“Ugh. Your name doesn’t suit you very well.” Shockwave said, contrary to his previous thoughts. “You’d make a better ‘Blob’ or maybe even a ‘Deadweight.’”

“Hey…” Blurr pouted, his brow furrowed. “I told you, I’m really tired. Too tired to move my tail properly. I wouldn’t be helping if I just thrashed around right now.”

“No. That’s true.” Shockwave paused when he noticed movement nearby. “Hold on. I know it’s difficult for you, but be quiet a moment.” 

Blurr pouted once more, but he did fall silent. Shockwave listened hard, tested the currents, peered out into the murk with all three of his eyes. 

He smelled it before he saw it. It rose up from the depths reeking of disease and madness, and Shockwave retracted his arms against his body in alarm. An eerie green glow was beginning to creep across the sea floor, heading towards them. 

“Blurr. You need to move. Now.” He said in a low voice. 

The colours on his skin rippled alarmingly, rapid flashes of red and black. He drew water into himself to make his body bigger, and one of his arms nudged Blurr none too gently to encourage him to get going. 

“Where am I even supposed to be going?” Blurr asked as he looked around for whatever might have been concerning Shockwave to this extent. 

“I have a cave. Keep going in the direction we were headed, I’ll be right behind you.” Shockwave said. 

He thought to perhaps add an extra warning, to tell Blurr not to look back, but the shark was hopelessly curious and would likely be more enticed to do just that. 

“Longarm?” Blurr asked in a small voice. “What’s going on?” 

“There’s no time for questions.” Shockwave turned, taking hold of Blurr in his arms and using his water jets to move them faster. They were leaving behind a clear trail, Blurr’s wounds still oozing, but if they were fast enough, Shockwave could at least stuff Blurr into the cave and guard him. 

It crossed his mind that he wasn’t sure why he was going to such lengths to protect such a useless mer, but even a bond forged by a true name was powerful. It would be a shame to have possession of a minion only to have them eaten or diseased so shortly afterward. 

Then again, did Shockwave want to lead the thing dragging itself out of the depths all the way back home? His cave was his sanctuary, well hidden and secure. Blurr’s scent was strong, and his blood was even stronger. There was no way that thing wouldn’t be able to track them there. 

He slowed, quickly looking around for an alternative. 

“Um, Longarm? Longarm?! What is that thing, Longarm?” Blurr asked frantically. 

Of course the fool had looked back. Shockwave spotted a convenient crevasse nearby and moved towards it with a fleeting hope. It might be occupied, but it was the best he could do right now. 

“In. Now.” He demanded, releasing Blurr and shoving him towards the crevasse. 

The exhausted shark tugged himself into the crevasse with difficulty and winced when a sharp jut of rock carved a new wound in his already wounded tail. 

“Get out of sight! And no matter what you hear, don’t come out until I tell you it’s safe.” Shockwave demanded. He turned to face the oncoming threat, and now that they were closer to the surface where the light was better, he could see it clearly. 

Its body was long and thin, almost serpentine, extending about twenty feet. Spines extended in neat rows along its sides. Pockets of flickering, poisonously green bioluminescence dotted the length of its belly and the tapered end of its tail glowed. Its arms were thin and bony, but its hands were enormous and laden with long, wicked looking claws. Its skin looked almost as if it was slick with oil, black and slimy. 

The worst part was the face. Ghoulish and gaunt, adorned with massive empty grey eyes that peered at them with hunger, that face split into a gaping grin filled with broken dagger teeth. 

“Longarm!” Blurr cried. “You can’t stay out there, it’ll get you! You’ve gotta hide, you’ve gotta run! Don’t worry about me, I can wiggle down in here out of its reach but you can’t just stay out there or it’s gonna grab you! It’s gonna eat you, Longarm!” 

Ignoring the sudden tirade from behind him, Shockwave faced the deep creature down. Most creatures knew better than to invade his territory. Things like this didn’t come up from their home at the very bottom of the trenches, from down where light couldn’t reach. Not without good reason at least.

This one seemed to have an obvious reason. There was a madness about it that was so strong, Shockwave could practically taste it.

It turned its attention from Shockwave to the crevasse, where Blurr’s face was just visible. It dug its long claws into the sand and pulled itself forward, slithering on its belly in the sand. 

“Longarm!” Blurr cried again, one of his hands reaching out to try and catch hold of one of Shockwave’s arms. “Run!” 

The deep creature was a great deal larger than the crab loving cuttlefish. He didn’t move as it charged toward him, but the red eye in the middle of his forehead began to glow. 

The deep creature was big, but Shockwave was bigger. 

Colour rippled over his skin, the blues and greys being replaced by dark purples. His body swelled in size, arms extending rapidly. His two blue eyes sunk out of sight and the single red one grew larger. Claws extended from the tips of his fingers and his mantle rose up to become horns atop his head. 

Now he was looking down at the thing that had so ill advisedly dragged itself from the depths, looming over it. 

“Even in your madness, you must realize you’ve made a grave error entering my territory.” Shockwave said. 

The creature tilted its head slowly to the side. Its dead grey eyes were difficult to read, Shockwave wasn’t sure if there was any coherence in them as it gazed up at him. It grinned a little more widely, the black substance that oozed from between its oversized scales leaking between its teeth. 

Then it surged up off the ocean floor and lunged at him with its massive claws. Shockwave caught its arms, wrapping his tentacles around them and keeping those horrible claws away from his body. It tasted as bad as it looked, and his tentacles slipped along its oily skin before he was able to get a good grip.

He shoved it back when it snapped at him with its jaws. Whatever poison was driving this thing mad, he didn’t want it in him. 

What Shockwave didn’t account for was the tail that was suddenly lashing towards him. The brightly glowing tip was sharp and bony, and it plunged into the soft flesh of his shoulder before he could stop it. He wrapped two more of his arms around it and tore it free from the creature’s body, then ripped it out of his shoulder. 

More of the black oil that covered it spilled out into the water, and it thrashed as it desperately tried to get away. The howl that escaped it was not a sound that sapient beings normally made. 

“You should have known better.” Shockwave snarled, eye narrowed. 

The sharp spines along the creature’s body dug into Shockwave’s arms as he tightened them around it. He was careful not to push down to the point where they might penetrate, but he also sustained scratches where his grip slid thanks to the oil and the thing’s continued thrashing. 

It swung its head back and forth with a screech, craning around and sinking its sharp teeth into one of Shockwave’s arms. 

Inconvenient, but hardly crippling. Shockwave detached the arm, let the disease maddened thing have it, let it be distracted by it. His other arms tightened, working around the spines. 

Sufficiently preoccupied with the discarded arm, which it shook furiously like a seal with a penguin, the thing didn’t seem to register at first that it was being crushed to death. By the time it did, it was so tightly encased by Shockwave’s tentacles that no amount of thrashing could free it. 

Shockwave held onto it until the last flicker of light left its eyes, then waited another moment or two for good measure. When he loosed his grip, its crumpled body drifted slowly to the ocean floor without so much as another twitch. 

He would need to dispose of it. It was far out, but not far enough for his tastes. Still too close to his home, his hunting grounds. He didn’t want the oil to spread. 

Gathering the limp carcass in his tentacles, Shockwave found himself looking over his shoulder. He expected to see many things on Blurr’s face after such a display, such a reveal; horror, revulsion, shock, disgust, perhaps even fear.

He hadn’t been expecting Blurr to be staring at him in wonder, mouth agape and eyes wide. 

“Come.” Shockwave said, beckoning to him with one hand. “We cannot leave it here.” 

Blurr startled when he addressed him and closed his mouth with an audible click. The shark nodded and pulled himself out of the crevasse. He didn’t recoil when Shockwave reached out and wrapped a tentacle around him as well. 

“I will carry you this time, but don’t expect this to be a habit.” Shockwave told Blurr. “Hang on.” 

Before Blurr could agree, Shockwave was already moving. He could move fast when he wanted to, and he saw no reason not to use haste in this situation. He wanted to get this over with, get rid of the creature and get Blurr back to safety before they attracted anymore trouble. 

There was a convenient trench not too far from where they had fought, a deep one that should work to contain the sickness that plagued the creature. Shockwave surged over the ledge and paused when he tasted Blurr’s sudden panic. He felt the shark’s claws puncture through the rubbery flesh of his tentacle and looked over at him. 

Again, there was no fear being directed at him. Blurr was staring down into the trench with apparent concern, trying very hard to be still. 

“I’m not going to drop you.” Shockwave said. He extended the carcass he carried and released it, but that seemed to offer no reassurance to Blurr, who just tasted even more panicked now.

Shockwave hesitated. This was an easy fix. If Blurr was feeling unsteady, all Shockwave had to do was wrap another arm around him. Sure enough, as soon as Shockwave had the shark better secured in his mass of tentacles, the panic began to subside. 

Curious. Most creatures wouldn’t find his true form to be less intimidating than a trench. In fact, many would see the trench as safe harbour to get away from him in his true form. 

Blurr was such an odd creature. An intriguing one as well.

Shockwave watched the descending carcass until he could no longer see it without leaning over the trench. He nodded in satisfaction, then turned to make his way back home. 

“Y’know…” Blurr said, the first time he had spoken since they left the crevasse. 

Shockwave looked at him, gliding along in a current. Blurr had dashed all of his expectations thus far, but this had to be the moment where the shark made some comment about his deception. 

Blurr looked at him with a smile, his blue eyes lit with amusement. He laughed softly and shrugged his slender shoulders. “There’s a lot more to you than meets the eye.” He said simply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus ends the first part of Deep Magic! Never fear, the world is only just beginning and there's plenty more to explore <3 Thanks for reading!


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